Music

Liana Bank$ Talks "People Like Me" & Her Upcoming EP, 'Apt 210'

Liana Bank$ is poised to drop what will be only her second EP to date this summer—christened Apt 210—but already she’s able to comment on her evolution as an artist. Basically, if Insubordinate was the “who,” introducing Bank$ to the world, then Apt 210 is the “what.” On our end: what’s new? What’s next? And perhaps most importantly, what took us so long?

If you’re anything like us (and her growing-by-the-day fan base), you’re stoked to hear more from this artist on just what she’s all about. And if “People Like Us”, Bank$’s trap-tinged R&B sound, and her signature green hair are any hint of what’s to come, we know this is going to be one complex, fresh, vibey as fuck album. Who’s ready?

I really want to start with “People Like Me”—congrats on dropping the track!

Thank you!

What has the reception been like so far?

It’s been pretty crazy! I’m loving the positive feedback and the videos of the girls twerking that I’m getting. It’s pretty cool.

So, what’s the story behind the track? How did it all come together?

It actually started out as trying to make a remix version of Ed Sheeran’s song—what’s it called?

“Shape of You”?

Yeah, “Shape of You”. So we started to kind of make a remix version of that, and it was a mashup of all my old songs in the past. And the track was just so fire that we were like, “Nahhh, we gotta make this a song—like a whole different song.” So, I was having a whole bunch of trouble trying to make something cool and then at the end of the night, it just came out of nowhere. I don’t know, we just knew it was fire, then we went with Ayo [Jay] maybe like a week later to work on his project. And we played the song for him and he loved it he was just like, “Oh-” like I was gonna ask him “Hey, you wanna do a verse?” kind of thing, and he kind of like insinuated it himself. So then I was like, “Yeah, you should do that!” [Laughs] And yeah, it was really good, it was crazy good vibes in the studio and a lot of wine.

Amazing. So usually when you’re writing songs, does it just come to you immediately or is it a long process? How do you usually work?

Most of the time, I kind of just know. This one was actually one where it was a little bit of a process, just because it started out as something completely different. We were trying ideas back and forth. Actually, we just spoke with my producer about it just now, and he was like, “It’s crazy how this came about because it was never planned and we never saw it coming.”

Yeah, I mean sometimes the best stuff is totally unplanned and just comes out really organically.

Yeah, 100 percent.

And then you obviously do songwriting for other artists, too. How does it feel being behind the scenes versus writing for yourself as a solo artist?

I think it just feels more free when I get to write for myself because I get to say literally anything that I want and there’s no restrictions—I like that. But I also like writing for other people cause it’s almost like I’m their therapist-writer in a way. Like, they’re telling me their problems and downs and I’m like, “Ok, well…” Just like, I find a way to say what they’re feeling. So that’s pretty cool.

It’s like you’re interpreting how they feel.

Yeah.

That’s cool! And then your EP, Apt 210, is coming out this summer?

It is.

How are you feeling about it?

I’m excited as fuck! Wait, can I say that? I’m super excited.

Totally!

Yeah, I don’t know—I have this big ball of energy in my stomach, I think it’s gonna be really special.

Is there a thread that kind of ties the songs together, or how would you describe it?

I think I would describe this project as a feeling. I think this project is really based off of a feeling and a vibe, a moment in time. I think in each song you can feel the energy that we had when we created it. So, that’s kind of just the vibe I get from this one.

Cool. When do you think it’s gonna drop?

Ummm, maybe around July.

Amazing. So Insubordinate was out last year and then you’re about to drop your second EP, but do you feel like you’ve changed or evolved as an artist even between those two projects?

I do. I feel like now, I—how to explain it? I feel like the first project was like the “who”, and me kind of just introducing myself, and this is the “what” now. I think as I evolve, I’m gonna complete the “who, what, when, where, why?” thing.

Do you feel like, as an artist, part of that “who” and introducing yourself is your style? I know you have amazing green hair and everything. But, do you feel like that’s all a part of it?

Yeah, definitely. I feel like it’s important to get people to know who you are in general, because people formulate their own opinions regardless of what you put out there. So I feel like it’s best to be your truest self and just promote that 100 percent so they can really feel, and get in tune with you and your story.

So on that note, what would you hope that people would take from everything that you’re doing?

Honestly, mostly just inspiration. I fee like I’ve been through so much shit, and I’ve never let it get to me, I’ve never let anything bring me down, and I kind of use each downfall as a triumph. That’s kind of what I wanna do with everything I do is just, empower people to keep going and know that they can get things done if they just keep at it. There’s no such thing as giving up.

I love that. Besides the EP, what’s in the pipeline for the rest of the year?

Oh, I am doing a show—I’m getting ready to shoot some visuals so I’m really excited about that. I have two shows coming up, then I’m going to Sweden, which will be really awesome I’m hoping, then back to New York to shoot another visual. So it’s a lot, and then finishing the album. It’s like a back-to-back-to-back, so I’m excited.